Out on a limb: imaginations soar to new heights in this multi-level tree house.

Every child dreams of a special place to play. For boys, it might be a ramshackle clubhouse with prominently posted "No Girls Allowed" signs. For girls, it could be a secret garden hidden in a maze of shrubs. When Mike and Courtney Patterson began building their home in the Providence subdivision in Hattiesburg, their children, Claire, 12, Drake, 10, and Jack, 7, wanted a Hobbit house.

Readers of J. R .R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings know that Hobbits live below ground and enter their homes through circular doors. However, since tunneling underground in the garden of their 6.S-acre property was impractical, the Pattersons decided to build a tree house with a regular, rectangular door. Nevertheless, any Hobbit would feel welcome: a circular staircase winds up to the first floor living area and a round glass window dominates the main wall of the upper level.

Instead of a platform between trees, landscape architect Robert Poore of Flora and contractor Adam Hodges of Hattiesburg created a three-story tree house perched between stout swamp magnolias and mature hollies. The structure actually sits on hefty pilings positioned in a grid pattern, driven directly into the ground without concrete, giving the illusion that the house is actually a part of the trees.

The children met with Poore, also a Tolkien fan, during the design process, and even now, the tree house plans continue to evolve. Eventually, there will be a bathroom on the ground level; then, a maze of walls can be built among the pilings. But for now, a rope ladder underneath the floor adds an element of adventure for the children to climb up among a network of crossed boards. Adults enjoy an Adirondack swing that is attached nearby.

A path of Oklahoma flagstones leading to the tree house meanders through the elaborately landscaped garden, implemented by Karnes Landscape, Inc., of Hattiesburg, using Poore's designs. Native plants and trees growing in five planting zones offer much distraction and interest as the path descends from the French Country house to the lowest level of the property.

Plant specimens were carefully selected to include varieties peaking in different seasons so that there are always plants blooming to attract birds and butterflies. This spring, bluebirds nested in a birdhouse near the trail to the tree house. Abundant and varied ground covers add rich textures and visual variety throughout the landscape. Like Hobbits, Courtney loves gardening and spends much of her time planning the next plantings. With a mixture of frustration and delight, she admits that she will never be finished with her gardening plans.

Even with the lush summer growth, the top of the tree house peeks above the trees when viewed from the back of the Patterson's' home. Courtney hopes it will eventually be completely hidden from view, adding to its mysterious allure. "The tree house sneaks up on you," she said as she approached it. She explained how it unexpectedly surprised her one evening. She had driven around and behind the house on the main road, and when she returned home, she thought that the radiating glow from the round window was the moon itself.

The tree house is evolving along with the garden. Katrina-downed trees were recycled to delineate a path approaching the tree house and also for the sides of a sandbox. Courtney planted flowers at the four corners of the sandy area with hanging baskets suspended from shepherd's hooks. She then planted kiwi vine to climb the poles and hopes it will grow along wires connecting corner to corner, eventually crowning in the center, over the top of the sandbox.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit and woodland fern grow at the edge of the clearing where the tree house rises. The slate roof of the tree house was left over from building the main house. Paint-flecked boards from an old schoolhouse give the exterior siding a colorful, rustic appearance. Hobbits themselves love to dress in bright colors, favoring yellows and greens. A deck on the second level has three painted childsize Adirondack chairs and a bench beneath the window. A whimsical forest face looks out from the stoutest magnolia tree. Courtney's mother bought the upright ring sculpture of three children that is perched on the railing because the children in the ring reminded her of her grandchildren. One boy, looking away, represents the thoughtful Drake; a second boy holding a frog resembles Jack; and the girl with a dog looks like Claire followed by their own dog Woofy.

Near the door, another nook is wide enough for a red bench, and a second deck is accessed from inside the lower level room. Courtney added baskets of flowers to decorate the decks and planted red verbena in pots held by people-shaped garden art.

Although Hobbits have an average height of only three feet six inches, the tree house rooms are sized for adults. A double-level living space overlooks a stream that edges the property. Trees that Katrina felled have been left for the children to skip across from bank to bank.

The lower level of the structure, decorated with alphabet letters on the walls, serves as a schoolroom. Two comfy red and white upholstered chairs invite children and adults to curl up with a good book. "We spend a lot of time reading here," Courtney said, adding that she often finds her son Drake in the tree house with a book. In front of a bank of windows stands a doll-sized tree house within a weeping fig tree.

A steep log ladder leads to the upper sleeping area with bunk beds for Drake and Jack. Each has reading lamps at the head and bookshelves at the foot. Claire has a single bed that faces the large Hobbit-like round window. Each child has a wire basket for personal treasures. Individual personalities are displayed in each child's sleeping area in stuffed animal choices: Claire has fairies and ponies on her shelf above her bed; stuffed snakes dangle from Drake's upper bunk; and a Jack has a shark pillow on his lower bunk.

The tree house is air conditioned and heated with an all-in-one motel style unit. A constant temperature keeps the tree house cozy and the furnishings and linens fresh.

Before the main house was completed, the Pattersons were so eager to move in that the family spent several nights in the tree house. Now, when friends are invited for sleepovers, the children prefer sleeping in the main house. They only sleep in the tree house if their parents are there to protect them from the nighttime noises. One evening, Corky the rooster had the tree house to himself for an entire night when Mike accidentally locked him inside. The rooster safely emerged the next day, ready to repeat a sleepover in the Pattersons' above-ground Hobbit house.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY CAROLYN THORNTON